Rubio raising expecations for Crist's fundraising

It's the game candidates love to play when fundraising deadlines approach: the expectations game. That means raising expectation for opponents (so they fall short) and lowering expectations for themselves (so they do better.)

Enter Senate candidate Marco Rubio, who says of rival Gov. Charlie Crist in a fundraising appeal: Thus, it should come as no surprise when the fundraising figures are released and he easily posts a monster number in the range of at least $8-10 million. He is, after all, a record-breaking fundraiser who in the first quarter of his 2006 gubernatorial campaign raised $3.8 million when the cap on individual donations was set at $500. In this campaign, he can now raise five times that amount, has dedicated this past month to a breakneck fundraising schedule featuring literally an event every night and is already hauling in money not only for the primary but also for the general election.